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The transition between high school and college is, as Professor Nurith Zmora said, “a rite of passage,” one that everyone at Hamline can sympathize with. Zmora has been working closely with her first-year seminar. “I really had to teach them how to learn and think in perspective. I think that the students now are more ready for college.”

As first-year student Brittany Dalzell said, “It’s a different kind of work load. In high school, it was ‘busywork’ and little things to earn points; now you do one thing and you have to do it well,” Dalzell said. “There’s so much more freedom than in high school. If you fail at something, it’s your own fault, not your parents’ or teachers’ or somebody else’s.”

While all students have done some adjusting to the different kinds of expectations that exist in the college classroom, it seems some students are having an easier time than others. Fellow first-year Paula Cortez said, “I’m used to having three hours of homework per day. I was in IB classes in high school; the only difference [now] is that I stay up until 1 a.m. playing Tetris.”

But as everyone knows, college is not all about studying. First-year students are also busy trying to find a place for themselves in Hamline’s many organizations and activities. “There’s something for seemingly everyone,” said Dalzell, who added that in high school, those who were not involved in athletics were often left out.

On the other hand, Cortez said, “I expected there to be more activities on campus, especially on the weekends. I’ve noticed that people just get really drunk because they have nothing better to do.” Cortez has, however, enjoyed the social scene that living in the dorms provides. “In high school, I didn’t hang out with my friends that much because I lived in Inver Grove Heights and I went to school in South St Paul.
Now, if I want to hang out with somebody, I can just go down the hall.”

As the semester winds down, the first-years are beginning to prepare for their first round of college finals. With less time spent on homework and more time allotted for finals preparations, Monson said, “I have to make sure not to slack.”

Hussein Rajput, new Associate Director of Counseling and Health Services, said, “One of the big differences of finals in college is the lack of structure; there are large amounts of time where you’re not in class.” Rajput said having a plan of attack and some sort of breakdown of how you will spend the time is important.

For first-years who are struggling with the stress of finals week, Counseling and Health Services has walk-in hours from 11 a.m. to noon every day; the staff can help with stress management, test anxiety, or any other things students may want to talk about. Or, if the stress of finals week brings on a cold, there are also walk-in hours to see the nursing staff.